which would you pick?

here is your choice. a new 05 sanger v215 wake series, with tower, bimini, board racks, front ballast, perfect pass, 4 cleats, boat cover with tie downs, 330 hp black scorpion motor, any color and graphics you want, no stereo equip. at all. tandem axle trailer with brakes, but no spare tire. all for $49,250 out the door.
or
an o4 malibu vlx wakesetter with 1200 # mls, perfect pass, titan tower, tower speakers, amp, sub, wedge, 340 hp motor, depth finder, 2 pair of cleats, bolster seat, bimini, boat cover. boat has a transferable warranty, tandem trailer with brakes, spare tire. approx. 70 hours on boat. $43,500. what would you do?

i'd definetly go for the wakesetter, 70 hrs is barely braking the boat in, how come the sanger doesn't have any stereo equip.?

The NEW Sanger may be a little better value at your prices, but I think you have a few more options with Malibu if you look at the V-Ride.

Does the $43500 on the Malibu include CA use tax, the cost to transfer the warranty, colors you like? It looks like the Malibu is about $3k over market to me. I wouldn't pay more than a new V-ride at $39k for a used VLX since they are the same hull. Add $1k for PP, $1k stereo, $1k cover/bimini, $650 Monsoon motor, you are still less then the 04 VLX.

You don't really need a spare on a tandem if you learn how to strap or chain an axle.

The boats are a little different drive them both before making your decision.

Mailbu, as long as the price is right, you mite as well add a few more k to the price of that sanger cause that is what you gona be spending getting everything it doesn't come with. the malibu is ready to go, if you can't make up your mind chose which wake you like the best

i for got to add something, the malibu would be $46117 with ca tax. sorry. but thanks for any and all input. the reason the sanger does not have a stereo is because i was told that people want to put in there own type and style of stereo. however i can get a four speaker single cd stereo from factory for @ $500 more. now what do you think?

I would take the Sanger but I'm funny like that. Take both for a test drive, its your opinion that counts the most.

where you looking at getting the sanger from. I think it is a little high. i know a shop that will take care of ya.

gary, i live in redding ca. saw the v215 at a boat show here. from what i understand if i by a boat from some other sanger dealer some where else, then i will have to take the boat back to the dealer i bought the boat from for warranty work. what do you know about this? the nearest dealer from here would be sacramento. a 2&1/2 hour drive.long drive for warranty work if needed. where is your dealer located?

I just purchased a 04 VLX brand new for $40,300 with 1200 # mls, perfect pass, swoop tower, 2 board racks, wedge, 320 hp motor, heater, depth finder, 2 pair of cleats, bolster seat, bimini, boat cover. boat has a transferable warranty, tandem trailer with brakes, spare tire. You can put in a ok stereo for 800 bucks if you do it your self. Then add tower speaker and lights for about $1500 and your at 42,600. The heater verse motor upgrade cancles themselves. Plus my boat only has 2.5 hours. Talk them down a couple grand.

nice looking boat faceplanter. i have only just begun to negotiate. actually i have not done any yet. these are the prices that were given to me.

mikeski- I'd like to know where you can get a decent boat stereo for $1000. My tower box alone was that much.

Here's a question, where do you have to take the Malibu for service? My buddy has an 03 VLX that has has some very minor issues, but the dealer has made everything much more difficult than it needs to be. Anything related to warranty work takes forever to get done, and his boat always comes back dirty. For these reasons alone, I chose Sanger over Malibu. The $10k price difference (I know you're looking at a used Malibu, I wasn't) didn't hurt either, but it was not the final point.

Remember, all boats will throw a wake, it's where the service gets done that will leave you with a lasting experience.

mark b i have delt with the sanger dealer before when i purchased a searay boat new from them. it took a year and being towed off the lake once to resovle and issue with the shifter. at that time the dealer was in transisiton. they had just changed owners. not sure if that was part of the problem or not. the malibu dealer here sez that they are very service oriented, but i have not had to deal with them. i know one person that bought a mastercraft here and has had nothing but touble with the boat and the dealer. all the dealers for the big three and several others are here where i live. very close by.

That Sanger is way OVER priced!!! I have all that plus the full ballast system, custom cover, depth finder, 4 kicker 6x9's on the tower, 4 kicker 6 1/2's on the floor, 2 kicker amps, 1 12' kicker solo sub, 10 disc sony cd changer, sony deck, 10 band eq, winddam, pads for the trailor guides, wakeboard and bindings of choice, newt juice (2bottles), rope and handle, 3 man inflateable and rope, lights, all coast guard required gear, 2 flags, hitchlock for truck!!!!

and this is a mjor reason I chose this over the Malibu I wanted -----$41,599 (no tax)

Look at my profile to see my baby! Yes she is an 05

(no Black Scop motor, NO need!)

(Message edited by ghostrider_2 on January 10, 2005)

WSVLX, easy choice.

ghostrider 2, do you have the wake series I or II? Who is the dealer in Sacramento?

Mimafour;

I have heard that rumor and from what I am told it is not true. Some dealers tell you that (AKA Tracy Marine of old) so they do not have to deal with a customer they did not profit from the sales on. You should be able to take your boat to any Sanger dealership and recieve waranty service. Ghostrider got a excelent price, Mine was just a pinch higher and without the rear tanks (my prefrence). Word to the wise, I am told from a very reliable Sanger source, leave the Black Scorpion motor in the crate unless you are barefooting. It equates to one mile an hour of top speed. Your tourqe is not noticable unless you change the prop. I bought mine from Delta Sport boat in Antioch ca. IF interested give em a call and ask for Jody. If there is a price to beat he will get it for ya.

Mark B,

Replacement cost is not the same as resale value. The $1k is generous for the value of the stereo in the used boat.

Sorry to hear about what you spent on your tower box, hopefully it has a nice paint job. I did my old boat with a mid-level system for $1200, see the write-up www.diytower.com. This included boat speakers, subs, tower, amps and a deck with a wired remote.

Gary is correct bout the black scorp. not worth it... Got mine here in Sacramento at Marine Center through Rich Marks(916)631-8666. Malibu is a great boat but just to expensive for my blood plus everybody has one and I like to be different. Right after I bought my this past summer I was on the Sac river going by crawdads and no BS there were 4, YES 4 Malibu's that were exactly the same parked right by each other!!

I third the black scorp. The difference between the 350 Mag & the Scorp is not worth the $$$. The only upgrade I would consider over the 350 mag would be the 6.2 MX.

Kenny, after having your Sanger would swap it for a VLX if they were the same price/options?

again thanks all of you for the feedback. good to here about all of your experiences and dealings. here is another one. 05 malibu vlx 21.5 foot. mls,
front, middle and rear ballast, boat cover, heater, bimini,shower, wedge, tower, four speaker cd, with one remote, extreme low rider trailer, with alloy wheels and spare, billet step pads,boat buddy II, led lights all around, polished swing away tongue, fiberglass swim deck, cleats, fold up front light,perfect pass digital wake board pro, depth finder, 340 hp monsoon, painted dash area with chrome instrument cluster. price $55000 out the door.
what do you think??

Ghostrider, I am mimafour's wife. I saw 2 malibu boats at the dealership yesterday with same color scheme, one was a v-ride the other a vlx. A turn off! The $55,000+ boat is a floor model. Anyway Im holding out for a red,yellow, orange, maybe green too! Thanks you all for the info to my hus...

darren, that is a tough question! I had to actually think a bit, I can recall 4+ times I was launching my boat and there were 4-6 Mali's launching!(nice boats) and I was the only Sanger that gave me a good feeling. I would have to say for the same priceI would still stick with the Sanger, Now if you would have asked me before I bought I would have taken the Mali, but its kinda funny the dealorship (malibu) I visited quiet often I told them when exactly to the week I would be making my purchase and the CC and SAN was not the finalist it was between them and Sanger, They didnt call or nothing (yes I asked them to)I wanted to know the final price with the options and when could I take delievery. The Sanger dealorship didnt make me feel like a customer but rather a fellow boater. I told both that I was a very successfuly navy recruiter so dont try to BS me, Mali did try not knowing that I had plenty of time behind there boat..

mimafour & wife, I hope you chose the boat that is right for you, I dont belive in paying extra for the eyecandy when it doesnt affect the wake,performace etc. Both are great boats but you are talking 10k+ or around a $200 a monthly payment difference for the eye candy that doesnt make a difference as I said, if you got the money go for it!

on a side note the dealorship warrenty work thing is false.

Malibu.... And I own a Sanger. They are both good boats, but the it'll be easier to make the Malibu wake huge, than and it sounds like a really high price for that Sanger.

I disagree guido.. both wake are comparable except the mali has the wedge. Sanger are known foir great wakes with standard ballast!